After a testing and challenging almost 18 months, St Andrews Parish Council in North Swindon, awarded their first ‘Community Hero Award’ to recognise ‘outstanding contribution to the local community'.

Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr Vera Tomlinson along with Cllr Jean Blake and the full St Andrews Parish Council turned out to make the presentation to representatives of The Ridge Wombles on Wednesday 14th July at 7 pm at Redhouse Community Centre.

The Ridge Wombles, are a fantastic litter picking army comprising of volunteers who dedicate their time to ensuring the picturesque area of The Ridge is kept litter free. With helpers as young as two years old ranging to upwards of seventy plus, this really is an amazing group of people to join who do great work. Local students have also incorporated volunteering as a ‘Womble’ into their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Tim Clarke & Sally Rowles proudly accepted the award on behalf of the group but were both quick to say;

“This is not just our award, this is for everyone who has turned up to help across the four years that we have been involved. It has certainly been and will continue to be a really worthwhile journey to ensure the beauty of The Ridge is preserved. We have seen challenges this year with regards to adapting the way that we work because of the pandemic, but this has not deterred our army of helpers, and we have made sure that they are kept safe at all times.

We also want to thank St Andrews Parish Council for their support by providing equipment and by removing the waste that we collect via their Grounds Maintenance team, as well as the local COOP for storing our litter safely until it can be collected”

Cllr Vera Tomlinson speaking on behalf of the Parish Council was quick to praise the volunteers, “We as a council wanted to find a way to recognise those individuals within our parish who demonstrate excellent community spirit. When Cllr Jean Blake told me of the fantastic work being done by this group, I knew that it was only fitting that The Ridge Wombles became the first recipients of our inaugural ‘Community Hero Award”

The parish council will be making this an annual event to recognise those working in the community. More details will be revealed in the Autumn.

If you would like more information about The Ridge Wombles, or wish to get involved then please contact our parish clerk on 07900 631 733 or clerk@standrews-pc.gov.uk